Pak Lah: FTA talks still on

The Prime Minister said talks were definitely &#147;not off&#148; and Malaysia was still doing its &#147;homework&#148; and fine-tuning the issues which have been raised.

<P>&#147;We want to make sure that the end results from the negotiations is
something that benefits us and our interests,&#148; he told reporters after launching
the Pantai Sentral Park Project in Pantai Dalam yesterday. </P><P>When asked whether
the 58 outstanding issues would be sorted out within the next three weeks, Abdullah
said: </P><P>&#147;Whatever we do, the most important thing is that we want to
ensure that what we achieve is best for Malaysia. For us, that&#146;s our priority.&#148;
</P><P>The United States had set a March deadline to conclude the talks because
it needed to present it to the US Congress 90 days before its Trade Promotion
Authority to negotiate FTAs expired in June. </P><P>On whether was more pessimistic
now about the FTA, Abdullah said: </P><P>&#147;I am not saying anything about
pessimism and optimism. But the fact is that we are able to go through a lot of
those issues.&#148; </P><P>Asked if it was not a big deal for Malaysia if the
talks failed, Abdullah said: &#147;We will talk about it if that happens.&#148;
</P><P>In Osaka, Japan, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said
Malaysia would only sign the FTA with the United States if there was no negative
impact on the country. </P><P>He said Malaysia needed the FTA but the agreement
should be on terms that were mutually acceptable. </P><P>&#147;Negotiations have
gone a long way and we are in the final stages of putting together our position.
</P><P>&#147;This month, we will make a position and will try to narrow the differences
with the US,&#148; he said during a luncheon with Japanese businessmen yesterday.
</P><P>Recently, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah
Aziz, who is coordinating the negotiations, said Malaysia and the United States
had already agreed on the non-negotiable issues such as the bumiputra policy and
the sovereign right of the nation to make policies. </P><P>However, there were
another 58 outstanding issues that needed to be worked out.</P><P><I>Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/9/nation/17094151&amp;sec=nation</I>